Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-01-24

high look and proud heart God hates.
Fly low. It is mercy that thou canst
fly at all. Remember all the years of thy
sin; thy days of youthful wandering; thy
days of manhood transgressions; thy
sins-dark, brooding, deathful-sins
against thy soul, against thy Bible, against
thy God.
In one of the benevolent institutions of
Europe where the destitute are provided
for, the newcomers have their photo
graphs taken while in rags before they
are washed, so that they may always
have in the picture reminder of the
degrade ion from which they were lifted.
| So, in this book, God keeps before thee a
picture of thy former
DESTITUTION AND RAGGEDNESS
of soul. Fly low.
! It is an offended God before whom
thou contest. Thou deservest His wrath.
| He scattered the 1S5, 200 of Sennacherib's
| host in a night. He abhors sin. He will
Judge the nations. Holy. holy! holy. is
the Lord God Almighty. Fly low.
| A thousand years ago an emperor
/ planted rosebuSh from which roses are
plucked to-day. At the foot of the cross,
nearly nineteen centuries ago, g rose was
planted which blooms to-day. Stoop
down il thou wouldst pluck it. Ga, for
more of the child-like spirit. l rejoice
i in the belief that those who come to
Christ to-day come aware of their sins
and their wants, and have learned how to
! fly low.
Again: These persons who come to-day
are like doves on their way to the dove
cote, because they fly for shelter. The al
Oatros makes a throne of the tempest;
the sea-gulls find their grandeSt frolic in
the storm-their merriest hour seems to
be that in which the surf of the sea piles
most high. Not SO with doves at the
first blow of the northeaster they fly to the
coop. Eagle contends with eagle in mid
air, and vulture fights vuiture on the bO-
som of the carcass, but doves at the first
dash Of the bird OF prey, speed for shelter
from fiery eye and iron heak and loath-
some talon. SO to-day these souls come
here for shelter. Every one has beset-
ting sin; thst sin is always after you. The
robber watches you when you come out
of the bank, sees il what pocket you put
the money, follows you down the street,
notices where you go to dine, and where
you sleep, and what kind Of lock you
have on your door; so there is some sin
ever on I. mans track. 1t goes with him
| to the store, 1t sits on the money-safe, it
looks over his shoulder while he makes
out the bill Of lading, it goes out with him
| to dine, it walks home with him at night.
| As to some deg that you do not want to
follow you but persists, you say TO it:
"BaCk home with you" You
STONE IT AWAY
and start on. After awhile, casually turn
| ing your eye, you find it close after you
with a sneaktng look. Wherever you 60,
sin goes; where you stay, sin stays. You
have watched the hawk above the barn
yard; it sails around and around over the
| brood of chickens-around and around,
now almost down to the flock, then
| back again, until st last it drops
and seizes Its prey. There is hawk
ready to pounce on every dove, and that
is the reason that these doves come to-
day to the windOws-they want shelter
| in the grace OF God and in Christian as
sociations. They say: ''If there is any
powers in your prayer, let me have
them; if there be any virtue in good
counsels, give them to M; if there be
anything elevating in Christian associa-
tons, let me feel their influence"
"Where thou dwellest l will dwell.
Thy people shall be my people, thy God
my God" Open your doors, 0 church of
Cod and let them come in as "doves to
their windows"
| Christ is the only shelter Of the soul In
trouble. WHAT can you do without Him
when sorrow comes? Perhaps at first
you take valerian to quiet your nerves,
| or alcohol to revive your spirits
| but have you found anything in the medi-
| OH stirr ,ulo emf
Perhaps in the excitement of the money
market, or in the merry making of the
club, you have sought relief. This world
has no balsam for 8 wounded soul, no
shelter for bruised spirit. The dove in
the time of the deluge flew north and it
was all water, in which were tossed the
carcasses of the dead world, and
THE FIRST SOLID THING
the doves feet touched was the window
of the ark. So the soul in trouble goes
out in one direction and finds nothing
substantial to rest upon. and in another
direction, and every whittier, but there is
no rest for the dove save the ark.
Substantial comfort will not grow
In Natures barren soil;
All we can boast, til Christ we know,
Is vanity and toll;
But VIII re tn Lord has planted grace,
Ard made His glOri known,
There fruits of heavenly joys are found:
And there alone.
You lost parent: some one said that
it was in the regular course of nature
thst your father should expire. Did that
comfort your You lost child; some
body said if that child had lived it might
have turned cut badly. Did that comfort
you? You lost your property; they told
YOU that riches were very uncertain. You
knew that before. You were SICK; they
explained to you that the difficulty was in
the secretions or in the sciatic nerve. Did
thst soothe you? 0 the despicsble qusck-
cry of earthly comfort! But when Christ
comes to the soul and says: 81
took your estate because |
wanted to give you more valuable treas
ures; made you sick in body that your
soul might be brought up to eternal
health; l took your loved ones away be-
cause | have better and brighter place
for them in my own presence" then the
wound heals, then the tears dry off the
face, then God has become the everlast-
ing portion of the soul. Oh, the air is
full of black wings and ravens beaks.
They join their wings of darkness until
they shut out the light Of the sun. They
have fattened on the csrcases OF men.
Their clangor is horrible to the ear.
Trouble and disease and death coming